Washing-machine.



H. NIEMAN.

WASHING MACHINE. 4

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 1B. ms.

1,279,139. PatentedSept.17,1918

HERMAN marten, or cHIcAeo, rumors.

WASHING-Macrame.

Specification of Letters" Patent.

Patented Sept. "17, 1918.

Application filed February 18, 1918. Serial No. 217,793.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, HERMAN NIEMAN, a

. citizen of the United States, residing at class 0 Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Washing- Machines, of which the following is afull, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in washin machines andparticularly to that ing inner receptacle, such for instance as tubs ofthe character commonly used in steam laundries, hotel laundries and thelike. One of the objects of the invention is to provide improved meanswhereby the standard steam laundry tub may be divided into compartments,each compartment being adapted to contain a specific class of articlesto be laundered, or the laundry belonging to one family or person,thereby saving time, trouble and expense in marking, recording andsubsequently assorting such articles, and at the same time enabling allthe clothes of a family or individual to be washed an kept to ether.

Anot or object is to provide an improved division member or partitionthat is removable and is also hinged? mounted at its rear 1 end so thatits forwar end may be swung upwardly across the opening of the tub topermit access to the space in the tub beneath the partition. I

Other objects and advantages will appear from the detailed descriptionand claims to follow and from the nature of the apparatus itself. 4

For the purpose of disclosing my invention, I have illustrated oneembodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is avertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig; 2 is a substantially axial sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 33 of Fig. 1;, and

Fig. 4 is a detailed sectional view showing the means for holding thedividing member in raised position.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, there is the usualstationary cylinmachines wherein there is a rotatthrough which accessmay be had to the interior of the casing, this opening being covered bya sliding cover plate 7, which may be closed when the tub is inoperation. Mounted within this casing, which is large enough to containwhat may be termed two rotating tubs, are a pair of rotating tubspreferably constructed with a pair of circular heads 8 having mountedthereon supporting shafts 9 journaled in the heads 10 of theoutercasing; One of these shafts, on

the exterior of the casing, may be provided with a suitable driving gear50 or be connected. otherwise to the tub-driving mecha-v nism.vSecuredto these'heads 8 are a series of staves 11 thereby forming anelongated wood cylindrical rotating tub, mounted and rotating within thecasing. These staves 11 are placed adjacent one-another and are providedwith suitable openings 12 to permit the hot suds or steam to enter theinside of the tub from the outer casing. This tub cylinder is divided inhalf, or into two tubs, by means of a central circular head 13. Straps14 surround the tub to bind all parts together. At regular intervals inthe circumference of the tubs are providedbafl'les l5-projectingradially into the tub or tub cylinder. These bafiles are secured inplace by keepers 16 attached to the walls 8 and 13 (F ig; 3), andprovide projections which catch the clothes and serve to lift the sameas the tub is rotated, until the clothes drop or roll off back into thehot suds. Each of the tubs is provided'with a door 17, preferablyconsisting of a section of the casing cut out and hinged at 18 so thatwhen the door reaches a position opposite the opening 6 its lower edgemay be raised to permit access to the interior of the tub. This door ispreferably made of the same width as the tub and is held shut inoperation by means of suitable slidebolts 19.

It is desired on the part of laundries in certain instances to separatethe clothes to be laundered into different batches and to keep them soseparated during the launder ing process, as, for example, the laundryof' one family. Heretofore it has not been practical to wash the clotheseconomically in this manner. The laundry tubs are usuall so large thatit does not pay to wash a sma l batch of clothes in one tub. To obviatethe objection, such separate batches have been placed in bags, but thisis objectionable for various reasons.

In order to overcome this objection, I provide a means whereby the tubsmay be d1- vided diametrically into compartments, this means beingpreferably adaptable for use in connection with the standard form oflaundry tub now in use,-and so designed as to be applied to the standardtub without changing the construction of the tub or withoutdisassembling it, and readily removable so that the tub can till be usedin the old Way.

In order to so divide the tubs into sections, a removable dividingmember or partitlon is provided, which preferably is in the form of aframe comprising two sidemembers and the end members 21, between whichare secured aplurality of round bars or rods 22,

' These rods may be placed close together or may be suitably spacedapart as desired. These rods provide on the-opposite faces of thedivision member thus formed a corrugated rubbing surface for theclothes, similar to the ordinary hand wash-board. This frame issupported in position in the tub between and in the plane of twooppositelydisposed baflleg 15. To the opposite sides respectively of theside bars 20 at one end v of the frame are secured a pair of metalstrips 23 having splayed rojecting ends that straddle one of the ba es15, as clearly shown in Fig; 1, whereby this end of the frame is held inposition so that it will not move during the rotation of the tub; at thesame time it is hingedly or pivotally, as well as removably, mounted sothat its front or opposite end may be raised. The opposite end of theframe is supported on the op-.

posite baflle 15 through the agency of flat metal strips-24 secured tothe upper sides of the side bars, 20 and projecting beyond the ends ofthe latter sufficiently to rest directly on the bafile 15. To preventthe frame from becoming displaced at this end, I provide stops orabutments 25 on the inner face of the door 17 which, when the door isclosed, take a clamping position over strip 24 so that the front end ofthe frame is held between thes'e abutments 25 and the baffle 15.

, the tub is in its normal position, that is the to permit placingclothes in or removing position with the'doo'r lTopposite the openmg 6.In lJhlS' position with the door 6 open, the frame or division membermay be raised them from the bottom compartment, the frame being held inits raised position during these operations by means of a suitablespring catch 26 formed in one head of the tub, as shown in detail inFig. 4.- After the clothes have been deposited in the bottom of the tub,the frame or division member may be lowered and an additional batch ofclothes deposited in the top of the tub, after which the door 17 isclosed and the cylindrical tub started to rotate in the usual manner andat the usual speed. It will be seen that as the tub rotates, the clotheswill be picked up from the bottom by the baffles 15, eventually droppingby gravity on one end of the division member and sliding along thisdivision member toward the opposite end and bottom of the tub again, sothat a rubbing action of this division member-on the clothes constantlytakes place during the washing operation.

Of course the invention may be applied to single tubs as well as todouble ones like those shown, and to various forms and types of tubs,and to tubs of various materials, and the division member itself may beconstructed in various ways and of various ma terialsand be secured inposition in the tubs in varlous ways, all without depart ng from thespirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

. I claim 1. In a laundry tub, the combination with a casing, of arotatable tub mounted within said casing and having an opening to permitaccess to the interior thereof, and a dlViSiOIl member extendingdiametrically "entirely across said tub, said member being removablymounted therein and hingedly support-' ed at the end opposite saidopening, the end adjacent said opening adapted "to be raised and loweredfor access to both compartments of the tub.

2. In a laundry tub, the combination with a rotatable cylindrical casinghaving an with internal baflies, of a removable partition dividing saidcasing diametrically into compartments, said partition at one end ofsaid baffles and at its other end supported by a diametrically oppositebaflie, and means on said cover for locking said partition in place onsaid last namedbafiie when the cover is closed.

4. In a laundry tub,the combination with a rotatable cylindrical casinghaving an opening in its circumference and provided opening initscircumference and providedwith internal bafiies, of a removabledivision member extending diametrically across said casing, saiddivision member having at one end a pair of forwardly projecting splayedstrips'straddling one of said bafiles whereby it is loosely andremovablyhinged to the latter, and means to hold the other end of. saiddivision member stationary. v

5. In a laundry tub, the combination with a rotatable cylindrical casinghaving an opening in its circumference and provided with internalbaflles, of a removable division member extending diametrically acrosssaid casing, said division member having at one end a pair offorwardlyprojecting splayed strips straddling one of said baflleswhereby it is loosely and removably hinged to the latter, and at itsother end a rearwardly projecting strip adapted to rest upon adiametrically opposite bafiie;

6. In a laundry tub, the combination with a rotatable cylindrical casinghaving an opening in its circumference and provided with internalbaflies, of a hinged cover for said opening, a removable division memberextending diametrically across said casing, said division member havingat one end a pair of forwardly projecting splayed' strips straddling oneof 'said'bafiles whereby it is loosely and removably hinged to thelatter,

and at its other end a rearwardly projecting strip adapted to rest upona diametrically opposite baflie, and a stop on the free edge of saidcover adapted, in the closed position of the latter, to overlie saidlast named strip and clamp it on said bafiie.

HERMAN NIEMAN.

